Table 1. Characteristics of the Study Population.
| Characteristic | Total | Medicaid expansion statesa | Nonexpansion statesb | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000-2013c | 2015-2018 | 2011-2013c | 2015-2018 | ||
| Population at risk, % | |||||
| Overall | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Age, y | |||||
| 20-29 | 23.2 | 22.9 | 23.6 | 23.4 | 23.7 |
| 30-44 | 34.4 | 35.1 | 32.4 | 35.1 | 32.9 |
| 45-64 | 42.4 | 42.0 | 44.0 | 41.5 | 43.4 |
| Sex | |||||
| Male | 49.6 | 49.7 | 49.8 | 49.5 | 49.6 |
| Female | 50.4 | 50.3 | 50.2 | 50.5 | 50.4 |
| Race | |||||
| Black | 13.3 | 11.1 | 11.9 | 16.4 | 17.7 |
| White | 79.5 | 80.7 | 77.9 | 79.5 | 76.9 |
| Otherd | 7.2 | 8.2 | 10.2 | 4.2 | 5.4 |
| Suicide mortality events, No. (%) | |||||
| Overall | 553 912 (100) | 226 271 (100) | 81 350 (100) | 155 006 (100) | 58 471 (100) |
| Age, y | |||||
| 20-29 | 111 775 (20.2) | 44 624 (19.7) | 17 395 (21.4) | 30 597 (19.7) | 12 631 (21.6) |
| 30-44 | 184 597 (33.3) | 77 204 (34.1) | 25 128 (30.9) | 53 720 (34.7) | 18 553 (31.7) |
| 45-64 | 257 540 (46.5) | 104 443 (46.2) | 38 827 (47.7) | 70 689 (45.6) | 27 287 (46.7) |
| Sex | |||||
| Male | 429 580 (77.6) | 177 356 (78.4) | 62 340 (76.6) | 120 101 (77.5) | 44 742 (76.5) |
| Female | 124 332 (22.4) | 48 915 (21.6) | 19 010 (23.4) | 34 905 (22.5) | 13 729 (23.5) |
| Race | |||||
| Black | 35 779 (6.5) | 13 022 (5.8) | 4998 (6.1) | 11 148 (7.2) | 4589 (7.8) |
| White | 496 219 (89.6) | 202 507 (89.5) | 71673 (88.1) | 140 526 (90.7) | 52 069 (89.1) |
| Otherd | 21 914 (4.0) | 10 742 (4.7) | 4679 (5.8) | 3332 (2.1) | 1813 (3.1) |
| State characteristics | |||||
| State-age-year group observations, No. | 2907 | 1461 | 363 | 855 | 228 |
| Unemployed, % | 5.5 | 5.9 | 4.6 | 5.4 | 4.3 |
| Less than high school education, % | 14.4 | 15.0 | 10.9 | 15.8 | 11.5 |
| Poverty, % | 13.3 | 13.0 | 12.5 | 14.0 | 13.3 |
| Non-Hispanic White, % | 69.5 | 69.6 | 63.7 | 72.5 | 67.4 |
| Opioid prescribing laws, mean No. | 3.2 | 2.5 | 4.2 | 3.4 | 4.7 |
| Firearm laws, mean No. | 20.1 | 21.0 | 37.5 | 13.0 | 12.9 |
Medicaid expansion states included Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Washington, DC, and West Virginia, which all expanded Medicaid during 2014. Note that Alaska, Indiana, Louisiana, Montana, and Pennsylvania are also Medicaid expansion states, although these states enacted expansions later (2015-2018).
Nonexpansion states are those that have not expanded Medicaid or expanded after 2018, including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wyoming.
Observations from 2014, the year during which most Medicaid expansion states enacted expansion, were included in our final adjusted analyses and are given in the total column.
Other subgroup includes data for the following racial groups: American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander.